goes well with canteloup

How Finally Going to IKEA Has Changed My Life

So my friend Kelsey, who is living a pretty charmed life right now in which she gets to hang out with her new kitten and experiment with new recipes and produce fodder for her craft blog, has a craft blog. I guess I just said that twice.

Kelsey’s pretty awesome. She’s very nice, a smart cookie, has that whole Scandinavian beauty thing going on (I don’t actually know her nationality, so like, grain of salt there, okay?). She has the best name ever and the grace to be born after me, thus allowing me to call dibs on being the first Kelsey whenever I want. On top of all that, Kelsey’s a perfectionist. If you want to know how to do something right, ask her.

If, on the other hand, you want to be told, in a somewhat confusing manner, how to quickly recreate something you saw on the wall at IKEA, I’m your girl.

How to make a hanging photo thingy:

Supplies:

Half a dozen cheap ass photo frames. I recommend the actual IKEA ones, as I dare you to find appropriately sized, matching frames that you are will to drill holes in for cheaper.

$10 worth of frames

Some hook and eye things. Go to the hardware store. Complain loudly that you don’t know why some are blue and you just want matching ones goshdangit in a whiny voice until some kind gentleman who doesn’t even work there tells you the blue ones are for masonry applications. Make a mental note to google “masonry applications.”

The ones with the little screws are eyes. The S’s are hooks. Mine are not blue.

A hammer and a nail (yes, just one of each)

Half a dozen photos or postcards or something. If you are really lazy, you can just buy a pack at IKEA like I did.

A roommate

Time: However long it takes you to get out of IKEA plus however long it takes to you telepathically get somebody to help you at the hardware store plus 30-45 minutes.

You ready?

Take your frames. Mark little x’s on them where you want to put the little screw things — the eyes. Remember that for the bottom frame, you only want hook thingies on the top.

Ask to borrow your roommate’s drill. Give up on your roommate’s drill. Instead, start all the holes (through the x’s, of course — come on, a little effort!) with the nail. Manually twist in the eye thingies. Get your roommate to help you when your thumbs start bruising but you don’t want to go find your pliers.

Deliberate for a long time about exactly how to arrange your pictures in the frames. Then, actually put the pictures in the frames.

Here’s the fun part: Hammer that nail into your ceiling twice to start two more holes for two final eyes. Ignore your roommate when she warns you about plaster and studs and stuff; this will make for another fun project in the future.